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This week, we are celebrating the Inaugural Deaf and Hard of Hearing Breastfeeding Week, announced by the DC Breastfeeding Coalition! The 2026 theme is: Close the Gap, Strengthen the Bridge: Community, Care & Connection, and will be recognized from September 16-22, 2026.

As an allied partner with the Deaf community, the DC Coalition fostered the initiation of the first ever Deaf and Hard of Hearing Breastfeeding Collective. The purpose of this initiative is to provide the nation’s marginalized and underrepresented Deaf community with accessible breastfeeding education, support, and community, because language and breastfeeding access matters from birth!



The Deaf and Hard of Hearing Breastfeeding Collective can be followed online!

This week, we are celebrating Semana de La Lactancia Latina! This year’s theme is: Roots of Love: Breastfeeding with Pride and Power. Created in 2023 by the Union de Lideres de Lactancia Latino (Latinx Lactation Collective), this week is being celebrated on September 8-14, 2026.



The observance aims to uplift voices from the Latino/x community, and celebrate the diverse cultures and resilience of Latino communities. The collective also strives to bring awareness to the unique barriers faced by these communities and advocates for language justice.



Follow along on their Facebook page for upcoming events and learning opportunities!

On April 17, 2026, the Department of Healthcare and Family Services in Illinois published a proposed update to its Medical Assistance program. Within the proposal were suggestions to change which lactation support provider types are eligible for reimbursement and their maximum fee schedule rates (1).



Alongside ALPP’s colleagues from HealthConnect One, ten total comments were submitted within the comment period (ending June 1, 2026) to address the proposed changes. ALPP’s initial comments and the Department of Healthcare and Family Services responses from August 27th, can be found below:



Public Comment: The proposed rule recommends coverage of lactation service visits within the first 3 weeks following childbirth, and a comprehensive visit within 4-12 weeks postpartum for individuals eligible for medical assistance. However, this coverage is not nearly enough to support families to meet their breastfeeding goals. Please consider amending this rule to cover between 9-12 or more visits postnatally with lactation support providers.



HFS Response: The Department has considered these comments. We apologize for the error in the description of the rulemaking in the first notice. The proposed rule under 140.926 does recommend lactation services visits during pregnancy and during the 12-month postpartum period beginning on the last day of the pregnancy.



Public Comment: As the rule is currently written, only three types of lactation support providers’ services are included. This limits other types of providers’ availability in our communities that can provide support for birthing families. As evidenced by the U.S. Breastfeeding Committee’s (“USBC”) Lactation Support Provider Descriptor Chart, (1) lactation consultants, lactation counselors, lactation educators, breastfeeding specialists, and peer counselors all provide necessary support for families who are hoping to breastfeed. All these provider types of work within their own Scope of Practice and readily refer families to other provider types when needed. All these provider types must be reimbursed by Illinois’ Medicaid program to increase access to care for families. Please consider amending this rule to include all lactation support providers listed on the Descriptor Chart published by the USBC. That way, all these qualified professionals will be covered by Medicaid in Illinois and eligible for reimbursement, thus increasing access to equitable and appropriate care.



HFS Response: The Department has considered this comment. The suggested change conflicts with the approved CMS State Plan Amendment which allows lactation consultant support
services to be provided by an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC), Certified Lactation Counselor (CLC), and Certified Lactation Specialist (CLS).



Public Comment: Strongly recommends coverage for lactation services delivered across multiple settings, including hospitals, birthing centers, home visits, community-based settings, WIC clinics, healthcare offices, telehealth platforms, and support groups (online or in person). Families deserve flexible, accessible care models that meet them where they are. We support the recommendation from the World Health Organization that the duration of this covered benefit should be provided in the antenatal period and up to 24 months or longer.



HFS Response: The Department has considered these comments and may consider the change in a future amendment. The current language of 12-month postdelivery is consistent with other related maternal/child services, including postpartum care. Lactation services can be provided via telehealth, office, home, hospital, and birth center, per the Provider Notice issued on December 19, 2024.



Based on these responses, it appears that no additional revisions are being incorporated relating to lactation support. Future advocacy from all types of Lactation Support Professionals to update the CMS State Plan could be pursued in order to influence change and expand access to all types of lactation support in Illinois.



Sources:

1) https://www.ilsos.gov/content/dam/departments/index/register/volume50/register_volume50_16.pdf

This week, we are celebrating Black Breastfeeding Week! This year’s theme is: We All We Got. Black Breastfeeding Week was created in 2014 by a collective of Black leaders from the breastfeeding field and is celebrated annually from August 25-31.


The observance was developed as a response to the high black infant mortality rate, the lack of diversity in the lactation field, and unique cultural barriers among Black women, and shines a light on efforts and initiatives that support breastfeeding among Black families.


​
Join the efforts this upcoming weekend for a Milk Crawl: A Black Breastfeeding Week 2026 Celebration. The morning will center celebration, connection, and community in honor of Black Breastfeeding Week 2026! This year’s Milk Crawl will include a walk rooted in joy, health, and heritage. All babies, strollers, friends, family and community members are welcome to attend. Click here for a comprehensive list of cities where the Milk Crawl is taking place so that you can join in!

This week, we are celebrating Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Breastfeeding Week was created in 2021 by the Asian Pacific Islander Breastfeeding Task Force. This year, the theme is: Better Data, Better Care for AANHPI Families. This week is celebrated annually from August 15-21.



The mission of this dedicated week is to decrease inequities and normalize chest/breastfeeding in AANHPI communities by improving breast/chestfeeding education and support practices.



This week will explore why data equity matters for AANHPI families by examining the current maternal and child health data landscape, highlighting California statewide efforts to improve data collection and representation, and uplifting community perspectives on what better data should look like.



Join these efforts by registering for a two-hour webinar on data equity and breastfeeding among AANHPI families discussing why data equity matters and current approaches to addressing gaps. The conversation will feature community voices discussing community strengths and challenges, how to support families, and how to work respectfully with communities.



🗓️ Tuesday, August 18, 2026

⏰ 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM PDT




This webinar is free to attend, please register here.

We are celebrating Indigenous Milk Medicine Week this week (August 8-14)! The 2026 theme is – Keep the Fires Lit: Rising Through Milk Medicine.



Indigenous Milk Medicine Week was created in 2019 by the Indigenous Milk Medicine Collective and is celebrated annually from August 8-14. Formerly known as Native Breastfeeding Week, the observance was created to encourage and uplift the diversity of Native breast/chestfeeding experiences.



Join the collective for their first ever, in-person convening dedicated to Indigenous lactation, community knowledge, and collective care. If you are interested in presenting at this event, their flyer contains information about “Request for Proposals” to review. The convening will take place on November 9-11, 2026 in Oklahoma City, OK. Save the date!

This year, the World Breastfeeding Week campaign focuses on what works when helping families and their babies have a sustainable start in life. The slogan “recognises that globally, exclusive breastfeeding has reached 47%, close to the World Health Assembly’s 2025 target of 50%, which has now been extended.”(1) However, as of 2023, just 29.8% of babies in the U.S. are being breastfed exclusively for the first six months of life.(2)



The World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action (WABA) reports that, “while regions and countries face different contexts…the same core interventions keep working, and the same obstacles keep getting in the way.”(3) In their work to identify what has worked, skilled support and consistent standards in healthcare facilities is highlighted. Specifically, Baby-Friendly-aligned practices and competency-based training with verification results in less unnecessary supplementation with infant formula and better early initiation of breastfeeding. WABA later reports that healthcare facilities, professional associations and training institutions should adopt competency-based training and verification.



Competency verification is an assessment of an individual’s knowledge and skills using tools that observe and measure abilities and attitudes. At its core, the competency verification method seeks to measure the ability of a professional to apply their knowledge and skills in practical situations.(4) The assessment of critical thinking and interpersonal skills are key to a robust competency verification program. Measuring competency focuses on the verification or demonstration of knowledge, skill, behavior or attitude.(5) While education alone can contribute to some individuals reaching the goal of being able to be verified, it is not the best pathway solution to demonstrate and verify that an individual is truly capable of performing the behaviors required by their profession.



The training and certification philosophy behind the CLC®, ANLC® and ALC® certifications has been competency verification since inception, with the underlying belief that although general knowledge can be gained through classroom learning about health sciences and tested through written examinations, the application of that knowledge and when to apply those skills in directly observed scenarios or case study situations is a more valuable indicator of an individual’s ability to work as a LSP.

References:

(1) https://worldbreastfeedingweek.org/2026/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Action-Folder_wbw2026.pdf

(2) https://www.cdc.gov/breastfeeding-data/survey/results.html

(3) Ibid

(4) Chapin EM, Chen C-H, Dumas L, et al. The Paradigm Shift in BFHI Step 2: From Training to Competency Verification. Journal of Human Lactation. March 2021. doi:10.1177/0890334421995098.

(5) Wright D. (2005). The Ultimate Guide to Competency Assessment in Health Care. Third Edition. Minneapolis: Creative Health Care Management.

We are officially in our first week of National Breastfeeding Month! Each week this month, ALPP will be sharing opportunities to celebrate, to learn and to share!

The first week of August is known as World Breastfeeding Week (WBW), and the theme is “Breastfeeding for a Sustainable Start in Life: Strengthen What Works.”

“WBW is celebrated every 1-7 August in commemoration of the 1990 Innocenti Declaration. WBW started in 1992, with annual themes including healthcare systems, women and work, the International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes, community support, ecology, economy, science, education and human rights. Since 2016, WBW is aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In 2018, a World Health Assembly resolution endorsed WBW as an important breastfeeding promotion strategy.”



You can learn more about WBW here!

ALPP submitted their letter of complaint on 7/22/2026. A copy of that later can be found below:



UnitedHealthcare

Attn: Reimbursement Policy Department

Commercial Reimbursement Policies

950 Winter Street, Suite 3800, Waltham, MA 02451

Re: Objection to revision of HCPCS S9443 in the June 2026 Commercial Reimbursement Policy Update Bulletin (Preventive Medicine and Screening Policy, Professional), effective September 1, 2026
To the Reimbursement Policy Committee:



In June 2026, a reimbursement bulletin was shared on the United Healthcare (“UHC”) website announcing that, as of September 1, 2026, the reimbursement structure for lactation care (code S9443) would be changing.(1) According to that bulletin, code S9443 can be considered for reimbursement when the mother is the patient, but will not be considered for reimbursement for an infant as the patient. In other words, code S9443 will be reimbursed for one session per date of service.



The Academy of Lactation Policy and Practice ‘s (“ALPP”) vision is a world where all families have access to quality, interdisciplinary, culturally sensitive lactation care, thereby promoting, protecting and supporting breastfeeding and lactating individuals around the world. This is only possible if there is access to all types of lactation support providers (“LSPs”), in various settings, across all geographic areas.



The American Academy of Pediatrics (“AAP”) states that breastfeeding and human milk are the normative standards for infant feeding and nutrition. The AAP supports exclusive breastfeeding for the first 6 months of life, and continued breastfeeding, along with appropriate complementary foods introduced at about 6 months, as long as mutually desired for 2 years or beyond. Human milk has a unique composition, with antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, immunoregulatory agents, and living leukocytes, all of which contribute to the developing immune system of the child. Studies and meta-analyses have confirmed the association of 6 months of exclusive breastfeeding with decreased rates of lower respiratory tract infections, severe diarrhea, otitis media, and obesity in for infants and young children. Additionally, studies and meta-analyses have confirmed the impact of breastfeeding longer than 12 months on maternal health in decreasing maternal type 2 diabetes mellitus, hypertension, breast cancer, and ovarian cancer rates.(2)




A 2025 National Academies report made recommendations to promote and support breastfeeding, including a national strategy to ensure families have access to breastfeeding support. That same report concluded: “CMS, the Federal Insurance Office, and public and private payers should create and ensure comprehensive coverage and payment of breastfeeding services and supplies to guarantee equal access to [lactation support].”(3)



Payer policy guidance generated by the U.S. Breastfeeding Committee (“USBC”) suggests that, while the Affordable Care Act (“ACA”), enacted over a decade ago, was intended to be a sweeping reimagining of how public health infrastructure and healthcare delivery may be integrated [to help new families]…breastfeeding has been difficult for many insurers to fit into existing delivery models.”(4) UHC was one of several commercial insurance companies that began reimbursing for lactation support services in some states across the U.S following the ACA implementation. Despite a low reimbursement rate, this type of recognition for services that are desperately needed for new families was beneficial to both families and LSPs.



The recently announced policy coverage update, stating that UHC reimburse for lactation support services with the mother as the patient, but will not consider reimbursement for the infant, fails to recognize the science of the breastfeeding dyad, the comprehensive nature of lactation support and the role that breastfeeding plays for public health and wellbeing. As the Maine State Breastfeeding Coalition points out, “such a policy is nonsensical to the model of care that [lactation support professionals] offer, [as] few if any breastfeeding concerns do not involve the infant. Most sessions center around an assessment of the baby’s latch and milk transfer to the baby.”(5) Under this updated policy, UHC will not reimburse providers any longer for that crucial aspect of their work.



The (AAP) and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) recommend assessing the mother-baby dyad as an integrated unit to support postpartum recovery, successful breastfeeding, and early childhood development.(6) The Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine (“ABM”) recommends that the dyad have an office or in-home visit with a lactation professional for the term infant.(7) These best practices require the infant to be present with the parent and the feeding to be observed. They also recommend continued follow-up for any infants with ongoing breastfeeding issues.



At a time when significant reimbursement challenges for healthcare professionals, and particularly for maternal and child health care providers, already exist and are causing major issues in accessing care, we need insurers to acknowledge the critical importance of breastfeeding and those professionals who support new families on their breastfeeding journeys. Chronic underpayment of lactation professionals has long been an issue, but further cuts to reimbursement rates threaten the ability of these professionals to continue their work all together. Our families cannot be successful with breastfeeding, and our babies cannot be given the best possible start to life, when insurance companies decide that reimbursing for this critically important work is no longer worth it.



ALPP urges UHC to reconsider this policy change, and to allow the use of CPT codes that cover both the mother and the baby in breastfeeding assessments and care, and that do not result in additional co-pays or deductibles.



ALPP requests that UHC withdraw its provision for excluding infant claims for CPT code S9443, and to continue to reimburse this code for both members of the breastfeeding dyad (mother and baby) when each is individually assessed. Alternatively, the creation of a new CPT code for a breastfeeding dyad assessment and support, which is reimbursed at a higher rate that code S9443, could serve as a solution.



ALPP requests the UHC withdraw the limit on one session per date of service language.



ALPP requests that UHC confirms that lactation support and counseling will continue to be covered by their health insurance policies as a preventive service without cost-sharing requirements.



ALPP would welcome the chance to engage in this conversation further, and thanks you for your time to reconsider these changes in the name of what is best for families and their babies.



Sincerely,



Ellie Mulpeter, MPH

Director, Academy of Lactation Policy and Practice

PO Box 2160

South Dennis, MA 02660



1. https://www.uhcprovider.com/content/dam/provider/docs/public/policies/comm-reimbursement/rpub/UHC-COMM-RPUB-June-2026.pdf

2. Joan Younger Meek, Lawrence Noble, Section on Breastfeeding; Policy Statement: Breastfeeding and the Use of Human Milk. Pediatrics July 2022; 150 (1): e2022057988. 10.1542/peds.2022-057988

3. https://www.nationalacademies.org/news/to-improve-breastfeeding-rates-in-us-report-recommends-creating-national-strategy-enacting-paid-federal-family-and-medical-leave

4. https://web.usbreastfeeding.org/External/WCPages/WCWebContent/webcontentpage.aspx?ContentID=2409

5. https://www.mainebreastfeeds.org/blog/united-healthcare-billing-changes

6. COMMITTEE ON FETUS AND NEWBORN; Hospital Stay for Healthy Term Newborns. Pediatrics February 2010; 125 (2): 405–409. 10.1542/peds.2009-3119

7. https://www.bfmed.org/protocols

Congresswoman Gwen Moore (D-WI), Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) Cory Booker (D-N.J), and Congresswomen Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.), Lauren Underwood (D-Ill.), Alma Adams (D-N.C.) introduced the Mamas First Act, which would expand access to maternal health care for mothers who rely on Medicaid.



“Across this nation, 40 percent of moms depend on Medicaid when they give birth. Instead of gutting and sabotaging Medicaid, we need to strengthen it so we can save lives. The Mamas First Act would provide mothers with access to evidence-based supportive care that can lead to healthier outcomes for them and their babies. At a time when stark disparities in maternal mortality continue to hit our communities hard, I am thrilled to have such incredible colleagues and advocates supporting the Mamas First Act and the ongoing fight to save lives,” said Congresswoman Gwen Moore.



This bill serves as a bold step to address our country’s maternal mortality crisis by expanding Medicaid coverage to include doula, midwife, and lactation care.



The Mama’s First Act will require Medicaid coverage of all types of lactation professionals who have completed at least 20 hours of foundational training based on the World Health Organization/United Nations Children’s Fund lactation counseling training blueprint, or an equivalent training; or is recognized within any category on the Lactation Support Provider Descriptor chart published by the U.S. Breastfeeding Committee-affiliated Lactation Support Provider Constellation.



The full text of the legislation can be found here. ALPP will continue to share legislative advocacy opportunities with its certificants as this bill moves forward.